Fairytale Storm Hawks Style
by Warfang
Summary: But not quite. If you want adventure and romance created from a wide variety of details, all composed from the darker fairy tales, then go ahead and read. Just be forewarned- M for a reason.


I do not own Storm Hawks! I just, well….this has been in my mind for a long time. And creating an interpretation in a fandom based on a Fairy tale is just as standard as turning the characters into animals.

But this isn't a fairytale you would find in the archives. Instead, it is me, making a fairytale out of the Storm Hawks using Elements of the bizarre and darker side of the fairytales we tell (and yet it still comes out the near equivalent of a bed time story).

Forewarning- threesome between MCXAXP, and DA is trying to get into F's pants, and I made Stork and Junko Finn's parents, and Radarr is a talking (?) horse.

Also this can take an hour or more to read!

On with the story!

It was cold the day that Aerrow and Piper walked into the forest. Their family had forbidden them from seeing each other. He was eighteen; she was sixteen, seventeen in the spring. The late winter frost swallowed up their tracks.

Her father said that the young lord at the castle had his eye on her, and if she agreed, she would be set for life.

Finn thought that was stupid. She would be miserable!

He told his father such over the dinner table. Stork wasn't actually his father. The elder man had found Finn during his wanderings, abandoned at the wayside and taken him in. Stork was a traveling minstrel who performed at court, with Finn's good eyes performing juggling acts.

Storks never gave the fact that Finn never once dropped or missed a throw or catch a second thought.

He decided the boy was gifted and could supply for himself. Traveling through this particular village when he was twenty-seven and Finn was nine, he had met Junko.

The kindly black smith had opened his house to them in the dead of winter. He was cheerful, contrasting against Stork's cynical and paranoid personality. Finn had liked Junko, and Stork took to keeping up with the house while they all lived together.

He traveled abroad in the spring after thanking Junko. When he and Finn wound up back in the same village for the next three winters, Stork and Junko decided that living together wasn't so bad.

That was how Finn met Aerrow and Piper.

…

Aerrow was a youth, about sixteen when Finn was twelve. An orphan, Aerrow had been raised by the late lord of the land and was a hard working youth. He was the only one to give Finn a kind word when the boys his age would have nothing to do with him. He introduced Finn to Piper, one of the few girls in the village who had received an education.

She had snuck into the boy's lessons as a young girl and had stolen in on their lessons. She was very smart. She couldn't just read, she also knew plants and how to pack for traveling. Piper carried practical knowledge in her head, and treasured all that she knew.

She also insisted on teaching Finn how to read.

The summer passed with Aerrow harvesting and planting, Piper carding and weaving, and Finn spending time with them. He learned how to track animals and plant, how to read, and Piper was so sneaky, she even taught him how to write.

The next two years were passed in amicable friendship between the three.

Then Aerrow turned eighteen.

….

Finn was upset when Piper's father forbade her from seeing Aerrow anymore. They were just good friends, Aerrow would never hurt Piper!

Besides, chances were that Piper would seriously hurt Aerrow even if he accidentally hit her. She had been sneaking lessons with Finn on self-defense for the past year.

When Stork found out, all he did was get her a proper staff and start her off on a set of weights that would help her fight.

If anyone else had caught her (well, not Junko or Aerrow) she would have been whipped in the town square for disobedience and neglect of duty.

But her father had even made public notice that Aerrow was to stay away from Piper! Was he afraid that Aerrow would court Piper or something?

Finn ranted and raved to his father. Stork nodded along and poured soup into Finn's bowl.

"I mean, Piper turns seventeen this spring! She'll be able to decide who she wants to marry! Her dad just wants the easy life for himself, and for his sickly wife to die so he can remarry."

"Finn, it isn't nice to say bad things about other people." Stork stated in a monotone voice.

"I'll keep that to myself, but you know I can see what's really there."

"We do know, Finn. It's a gift you have. And in the wrong person's hands, that gift could get you killed, or worse." Stork cautioned his raving son.

"Is dinner ready?" Junko came in through the back door that Stork had added to the house. He rarely stopped working in his smithy to come inside and eat, but he did try to make it a point to have at least one meal a day with Finn and Stork.

"Yes, I just have to slice the bread and soon, you'll be eating."

"Yum!" Junko called back, scrubbing his hands clean with one of Stork concoctions that actually worked.

The three sat down for dinner.

"Dear Atmos, thank you for the plentiful work I have. Thank you for the doting husband," Stork kicked Junko under the table, "and the lovely son we have. Bless us with a roof over our head, shoes on our feet, clothes on our back, and food on our table. Omah."

"Omah." Stork echoed. Finn nodded his head, still too young to pronounce the ending.

They dug into their food.

Finn nearly sighed as he mopped up the remains of his stew with his bread. "There's no way that Piper will marry the young castle lord. She's too…much for him. I don't know what the word is. They're a wrong fit?"

"Just say that together they'll be miserable. But I wouldn't worry about Aerrow and Piper, Finn. If you get caught near on or the other by her father's spies, he'll accuse you of breaking the decree. Only talk to them if there are many adults present." Stork flicked his gaze at their son. "I mean it."

Finn nodded.

…

The news was not sitting well with Aerrow and Piper, but they understood that Finn couldn't act as a go between. It hadn't even occurred to them that he could. But they did realize that even though they hadn't thought of it, Finn would have suggested it and convinced them that he would have been okay.

Finn was quick with a smooth tongue that could get him out of trouble- all he really needed was the attention of the person he was talking to and for them to listen to him. But the chances that Finn would be found in insubordination of a village decree and whipped was too great.

Instead, Piper and Aerrow started to take long walks. Even though they never met up, Finn knew that something was going on.

Then Aerrow brought in Radarr, a horse he had saved from the butcher, in to be shoed by Junko.

Finn was all smiles for the next week.

Then, one early morning in late winter, with spring just around the corner and the visit from the young lord to check on his domain even closer, Piper and Aerrow walked into the forest.

They left Radarr behind.

…..

Leaving Radarr certainly threw Piper's father, and even threw Finn for a moment. But then he realized that Piper's father had had someone watching the stables ever since Radarr was given new shoes.

So he stayed quiet, and watched Piper's father rant and rave and search. Then, when he decided to kill Radarr because some strap of a man had run off with his daughter, Finn slipped through the back of the village and raced to lift the latch on Radarr's gate.

Radarr nickered and rubbed him affectionately, and then stole off at a trot into the woods.

Finn slipped home with no one the wiser.

Well, except his parents.

….

It's been three years since they left. Finn is fifteen now. The other village boys still won't have anything to do with him, but that's just fine with Finn.

Harrier, the young lord, finally started to court someone from a separate fiefdom with the permission of the king. The wedding was set for that winter.

Finn shrugged. The future looked very happy for their lord and master. He was a fair ruler, if a bit snobbish and hung up on the rules. But he was fair and far more sensible than he was cruel, and so the village was happy and prosperous.

Finn looked further into the future. His eyes widened.

…..

Stork was used to Finn coming to him from gazing into a stream with the oddest request, but building a root cellar?

"It's necessary in the future. Trust me."

More than the words, the terrified look in Finn's expression convinced Stork to go out and talk to Junko about building a root cellar. A root cellar that would go in their living room, set into the floor.

But why did Finn suggest making a rug to go over it?

…

The whispers of war soon reached them in the fall. There was a land to the south that was in a severe drought, and despite the aid that the King of Atmos sent to them, there was a candidate for the ruler of the southern lands that wanted to take Atmos' fertile lands to themselves.

Atmos told them no.

The preparations for war began.

…..

The King of Atmos went to the Western Nation and asked them to take a boon from him and accept any refugees from the Southern Nation.

They agreed, as a plague that Atmos had succored them through had devastated the population and they needed the extra labor, maybe even permanent settlers. All the winter, the refugees began to trickle through the border, running more from the draught and famine than from the war.

Atmos supplied them with the necessary materials, as they would not trade with the southern kingdom, who was readying to slay them.

….

Early that spring, when Finn was sixteen, a fair passed through. Finn warned his parents to stay away. The fair made him feel sick when he heard the announcement, and a feeling o f ill-foreboding had swept through him. Junko and Stork easily acquiesced, but Stork suggested that Finn go for the archery competition.

"Puh, why would I want to go to that?"

"Well, someone shot the mistletoe and holly out of the trees, and I know it wasn't any of the other boys. You have very excellent eye sight, Finn. Why don't you take the bow and arrows you made and go see the competition at least?" Stork reminded his son that someone had made a garland for the great feast that had astounded the village, and even bode well for the nuptials of the young lord and his partner.

Finn rolled his eyes.

"You do realize that this is a sneaky way of finding out which families can send their boys to war, right?"

"And if you read a bit more, you would know that that is illegal. The king himself despises such acts, and if he knew about it, he would stop it." Stork reminded him.

"Yeah, Finn. Seeing the future can be handy, but it's also a handicap. Remember what Aerrow told you- trust yourself in the here and now, and you won't lose your way." Junko packed a bag with fruit, bread, cheese, and a water skin. Then they saw Finn off.

Finn decided that perhaps spending the day out of the house would be good for all of them.

…..

He arrived at the fair by late morning, still enough time left before it could be considered noon.

Looking around, Finn found that the archery contest was already underway. Shrugging to himself, he went and watched the show. The area was off to the side, with some crude benches erected to the side where the archers would be parallel to them. The targets were set at determinable distances away at the end of the field.

Brightly colored markers warned people from accidently wandering into the line of fire. While glancing around, Finn noticed that something was slightly off. Paying closer attention, Finn felt his blood run hotly.

He became furious when he saw the leading contender was cheating. But before he could open his mouth and tell the referee, he saw the look cross their faces.

So they were in on the cheating? Fine.

Disgusted, Finn left the competition. He re-slung his bow and made it around the fair, wandering through. He was approached by some boys who picked his pockets. They had been polite enough, and thinking that he was duped, swiped from him and escaped.

Finn lingered in front of a show, and then cut through the middle of the fair. He certainly wasn't about to spook them, or bring the authorities on their head.

The boys gave terrified squeaks when Finn found them.

"Relax, I grew up a street rat myself. Want some food?" Finn treated the boys, and taught them how to pick even another pick pocket's pocket.

They parted ways, Finn with their earnings, they with his food. They made it to the other side of the fair before realizing Finn's unspoken rule-

Don't pick from someone who teaches you, especially a senior pick pocket who can pick pocket you.

Finn watched from outside the fair as they found the money and the good luck charm he had woven into the bag where they had first stolen from him. They would need all the luck they could get in the coming years. Too many factors decided their future.

Shaking his head at the state the war was putting everyone in before it started, Finn left the fair.

He didn't return straight home. After all, it was only just past midday. Instead, he followed the trail that the fair had followed down to the southern border. The forest was to his left, the western side of Atmos. As he traveled, he reflected on where he stood in the grand scheme of things, with the ally to his east, the enemy to his back, and the heart of Atmos ahead of him.

He had walked a far distance, until early evening, before he heard noise up ahead.

He walked right into the clearing where the campers were, although it looked much more like an entourage than anything else.

There was a general ruckus being sent up, so Finn cleared his throat and addressed them loudly.

"Uhm excuse me." Heads turned to him. "Someone need help?"

The way parted. An elderly man was gazing up into a tree. Seeing that no one was going to stop him, Finn went over to the elderly man. He had to be in his-what? Late forties early fifties.

"What seems to be the problem?"

The man turned to him. For someone very old, he certainly had a commanding air about him. He gaze pinned Finn to the earth, and Finn had the feeling he was measured and seen through all at once. He held himself straight and tall, with a confident air, even now when worry etched soft lines around the edge of his face.

"A bird came by and mischievously plucked the ring from me. We have tried to retrieve it, for it carries much significance to us. But alas, there are no other branches near it, and climbing to that height alone is dangerous. Even the worse climber has attempted the climb for the ring is that important to us."

"Have you tried getting it down the same way the bird got it up there?"

The elder man leveled a gaze at Finn.

"Sorry, I just meant if you had anyone who had a falcon to retrieve it, or- hold on. I'll get it for you. It's that gold band with the leaf design, right?" Finn un-slung his bow and leveled an arrow at the glint in the trees. He steadied his breathing, and then fired.

The branch cracked.

The ring fell down to the earth, missing the other branches, and landed in Finn's outstretched hand.

"Here you go." Finn handed the band over to the man, who reverently placed the band back upon a string and hid it in his jerkin.

Finn decided if that was the way to travel, that was how they traveled.

"See you around." Finn turned to leave.

"Wait, young man. There are precious few who could make a shot like that. Fewer still who would know what the King's Crown looked like."

Whoops, thought Finn.

"Well, I just have exceptional eye-sight. Both of my dad's have been telling me that for years."

"Well they are quite right. Stay and visit for awhile, unless you have somewhere to be." The man motioned for them to sit upon chairs that were set out, stools that could be collapsed and packaged for light travel.

"Nah, I passed through a fair on my way up. The guy winning the archery contest was cheating, so I didn't bother registering."

The man nodded.

"It is a trick to get the young boys to draft themselves. When they lose the first round, they are told that they can sign up for a second round if they pass a standard test. No fee is charged. It's actually a trick to say that they agreed to fight in the war, and should have read the small print. Such dishonest behavior is bad for the kingdom."

Finn nodded. He sat down and offered the man some of his food. The man thanked him, but offered Finn some of his stores instead. One of the girls left with Finn's water skin and came back, having filled it at a nearby stream.

"How long ago did you leave the fair?"

"About midday, a little after." The man nodded. At the motion of his hand, the men around them began to prepare horses.

"Tell me a little about yourself."

Finn kept the opinion that the man was commanding to himself.

"Well, for starters, my Dad Stork found me at the side of the road. He didn't even check to see if there had been a funeral procession the previous week, or if I was a changeling- he just took me in. He's usually paranoid, so that was a little odd for him to just take me in and care for me. We traveled for six years or so, before passing through the village where my other Dad, Junko, lives when I was nine."

"After that, no matter where we traveled the next three years, we always found our way back to that village. After three years, Stork decided to settle in with Junko. I've grown up around blacksmithing since then, and even picked up a few tips for it, but I just don't have the build for handling the iron."

"So instead, I'm looking at being a traveler like my Dad Stork. He's really good with facts and stories, and I'm pretty good at improvising, so when I'm old enough, chances are that I'll do my own traveling."

The old man nodded. "You have very clear eyes, Finn."

"Yeah. I can see the heart the matter. But I still can't figure out if you're King Agar, despite all the signs pointing to it. It's like you keep blinking out of my Sight-"

Finn clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Sorry!" He squeaked.

The elder man laughed.

"Don't be sorry, Finn. It is right of you to be cautious. That is a rare gift you have. Rarer still to find one who can practice their gift. Why aren't you a Seer for your lord?"

"I wouldn't be happy there." Finn's honest answer caused the man to smile.

"Well, may you find where you belong, Finn."

"Uh, yeah." Finn smiled back, unable to think a blessing of his own. "Safe travels, sir." He blurted out. Finn felt like slapping his forehead. Of all the blessings, he could utter, a basic safe travel?

The old man smiled, and thanked him. Then he mounted his horse and left the clearing, after the fair.

Finn collected himself once they had left and head home, turning in a wide circle to head back home so that he would reach there after dark.

It wasn't until a week later that he heard the King had ridden through a sleeping Southern Raider's ambush on his way back to the capital.

…

Finn was glad for the long winter. It sealed up the passages to the South and stalled the war. But it also allowed for training and for preparations.

Junko had melted down scrap that the village had stored for just emergencies over the year, and rust had scarcely set in from the time of many fathers' ago in Junko's family.

Air tight, air-less caskets had that affect, Finn supposed.

The work that winter was long and hard, but Finn made sure that there was a rug in every room to keep their feet warm, and specifically thick to keep the sound of the hollow space that was the root cellar from discovery.

Stork's own paranoia had him digging a tunnel to the cave mines, miles away from the village, and closer to the next one. The miners laughed at them, but were okay with the tunnel.

That spring, the South Raiders attacked the lower towns of Atmos.

…

The passes had barely cleared; word was just coming to the capital that the pass was open when the Raiders swept through.

The runner bringing the news that the pass was open was stopping for a fresh horse when the rider bringing the news that the Raiders were attacking came by on a sweaty horse. The runner got the message from him, and gave him the fresh horse, before taking off across the fiefdom to ready the defenses.

The Raiders were pushed back within a week.

The fighting in the war began.

…..

Finn was so glad for the root cellar. His village hadn't been attacked because of the topography; the Raiders had started from the west and swept towards the east, so as to not have the forest at their backs.

The miner's village was attacked, because they were farther from the forest and closer to the line of battle. The women and children escaped into the tunnel while the miners fought them off with pick axes and shovels.

They survived by collapsing the tunnel and fleeing to Stork's house.

Stork welcomed them, and they spilled out into the village. Fortifications were raised, and Finn stood on top of the battlements raised around the village to see the Raiders coming. The Lord Harrier came down and had the women and children evacuated to the castle, and fought in the skirmish.

He actually could fight in that confusion, but Finn decided that he had let up on the honor of dueling as fighting with the rules against someone who doesn't know the rules is just unfair.

Quote the Lord's wise consort. She certainly had a good influence on him.

Finn shot down many Raiders that day, and slipped back to his father's house to throw up afterwards.

…

The visions of the lives he had stopped were making his head ache and swirl. Finn battled against himself, finally achieving the compromise with his vision- that they had made their choice and seen it through.

The vision subsided to normal levels, no longer inducing shock at what had happened.

Finn curled up with his fathers. They stayed by his bedside with clean water and soothing words, reminding him that he was loved. They comforted him, and stayed awake the whole night while Finn tossed and turned through the worst of his gift.

Seeing what could have been.

…

The skirmishes continued that summer, with Atmos steadily pushing the Southern Raiders back into their home.

But then one day, Finn left to rove, because he was itching to get out of the house. The sentry waved him out, and hoped Finn would bring back some flowers for the healer. Finn signaled that he would look, and headed off into the north.

If he had gone south or west, he would have come back to warn them.

As it was, Finn came back with a bundle of flowers to find that the village was smoke and rubble. The fight was continuing at the castle, he could hear it on the breeze once he could see what the remains of the village were.

Finn rushed to his home, searching for his parents. He didn't find their bodies, but the rug was kicked away from the trap-door that led to the root cellar. Finn hauled the heavy door open.

"What happened?" He asked.

Stork and Junko looked up at him. They were clearly exhausted and just returning from the miner's village through the tunnel.

"They had a machine with them. They assembled it, and it tore through half of the village. It flung rocks over the battlements, or through them. We got all the panicking mothers and children through the tunnel to the miners, and they've started up the defenses and spreading the word while Lord Harrier keeps the machine occupied." Junko related what had happened as he helped Stork sit down at the table.

Finn poured them some water, and then dashed the cup to the floor. He dipped his finger in the pitcher and tasted it.

He spat it out.

"Someone needs to tell Lord Harrier that they've poisoned the water. Down!" Finn tackled his dad as Junko swung and hit the rear guard Raider that was coming through the door.

"We'll tell Lord Harrier, and take the flowers in case anyone else is poisoned. You go to the forest."

"But-"

"Go!" Stork screamed. Finn fled out the back door and into the first line of trees. There were shouts and Raiders began to pursue him.

Finn ran as hard and as far as he could. Finally he collapsed, sobbing to the ground. His dads…

Finn steadied himself and listened. The Raiders had long since given up on him, and returned to the battle- others were dead.

They had slipped and been broken on the tree roots.

Finn shuddered and hoped that Aerrow and Piper had entered the forest much more carefully.

He then listened for the sound of running water. His senses deserted him, seeking out across the forest.

Finn paid attention, as it was early fall, and no longer could be called summer. Soon, the sound of a stream reached his ears. Finn oriented himself, and set off in search of the water.

Once at the stream, he made a basin where the water could collect, and leaned into the water, over the embankment.

Soon, the water filled with images as his regular sight was ruined, and the vision was pulled before him.

His parents were alive. Junko would smash the throwing arm and then Stork would run up the contraption and onto the battlements of the keep. The Raiders would be so stunned that Junko would escape into the overgrown gardens around the keep and find a way in.

The village would survive with casualties, but survive.

Finn pulled himself out of the vision.

Across from him on the bank, for just a moment between vision and reality, he thought he saw Aerrow and Piper.

Then his vision cleared, and there was nothing but shrubbery.

Deciding that it was the fatigue playing with him, Finn leaned back down and murmured his thanks to the flowing water, and his thanks flowed into the water and was swallowed by the stream.

Finn then corrected the basin to its usual dimensions and staggered away from the stream. He was exhausted, had little food and water, and no extra clothes.

He was also further into a forest no one had returned from than he should have been.

…

Finn fell asleep in the grassy hollow near some old trees. He awoke to periodic rustling in the night, and once he thought someone had kissed his eyes.

He fluttered them and saw a young girl, with a birth mark under her left eye.

"Momma Queen…" he murmured. "A thousand greetings…" Then he sank into oblivion.

…..

Leaning over the third human to have found his way into her forest, Cyclonis smiled.

"He is quite darling, and very gifted. Thank you for bringing me to him, my dears. Now the Wyld Fae will think twice of dealing with him." Her smile was positively devious and charming.

"But he will still be claimed by one of my court, just as you two were. That I have no power over."

Piper and Aerrow nodded. Protection from Wyld Fae was more than they had hoped for from the Queen of Darkness and Air. They knelt to her and proclaimed their thanks without fear of waking Finn.

They were so far crossing over into the Fae that Finn waking and seeing the Queen herself was miraculous. They had never looked back when they decided to follow her.

She granted them the authority to be together- at her side.

On her other side, currently absent and gathering news of the war, Dark Ace usually lingered. Aerrow felt his eyes dart to the edges of the forest, and then to Finn.

Cyclonis laughed.

"You think that he will find your young friend a worthy pursuit?"

Aerrow nodded, before raising his head.

"Yes, Master Cyclonis. I trained Finn myself."

Cyclonis arched an eyebrow.

"I too, think so, Master. I taught Finn how to read and write." Cyclonis turned her head to Piper.

She grinned at them.

"You know that I cannot deny any of my court fair game." She crooned.

"But, perhaps we shall vacation at the shore apace. It is due time to do so." Cyclonis grinned malevolently. "Dark Ace knows better than to appear before me in anything less than his best. If fortune smiles upon him, let him find the boy first."

She gestured, and both Aerrow and Piper stepped into the folds of her cloak. It was a majestic article of clothing. Both Aerrow and Piper were dressed in leggings and tunics with no sleeves, but Master Cyclonis wore a dress with a cloak that enveloped and trailed after her.

She gathered the cloak around them, and the cloak made no discernable change in holding its precious cargo. Cyclonis then flew off with her young charges.

Oh yes, a nice long vacation was in order. Upon her return, perhaps then a feast for her Knight for his success. He was lonely for so long.

…

Finn awoke to clear skies. Still waking up, and in the process of getting up, he had the sudden urge to lie down and be still. His vision slammed him suddenly, his back arching as the pain liquefied its way down his spine.

A house. In the words. The path to the house traveled backwards and ended where he was, writhing on the ground. Finally the vision settled.

After checking to make sure he wasn't about to hurl, Finn climbed to his feet. Still a bit wobbly, but no worse for wear. Finn started towards the house. Once he was certain that the not called upon vision would assault him and leave him crippled on the path, Finn started to consciously recall the details.

For one, it wasn't a house. It was more of a mansion, and far grander than the Keep that Lord Harrier lived in. It was gigantic, and its' own presence had filled his vision, blocking out any other detail. The path would also take him the rest of the day, and maybe into tomorrow to travel on foot. The vision had passed very quickly, but then again, no vision Finn had yet came with a time stamp saying 'this is when it happens'.

In fact, when he had first approached his father about the root cellar, the vision had been his fathers hiding in the root cellar from searching Raiders. There was no tunnel. There was no fighting. No miners or refugees. Just his fathers, in the ground, hiding.

Finn trudged on. The house would provide shelter, and then he could decide whether to turn back, or to go on. He wished to be re-united with his fathers. He missed them dearly, and longed for their company. But to return would be momentous, as no one else had done so. But no one else had visions either. Perhaps he could find a way back-

The vision of spending the rest of his life in the forest drifted around the edges of his Sight. Finn cried, but rather than give up, he walked until sunset, and continued walking into the dark.

The way he was traveling was not by sight, but more by feel. He rarely looked at his feet, and instead looked at the trees around him. He could scarcely see the tops of some of them, and the canopy was lush with life. The memory of the path the vision had shown him was replayed in his head backwards. He would make his way there- eventually. For the time being, Finn gazed about to distract himself.

In the late fall, there was still green blooming in the trees! Finn shook his head in wonder and marveled at the trees. There were a great many clustered together, yet the path snaked and weaved its way through them.

Finn carried on. The lone howl of a wolf caused his steps to hurry. The wolf sounded very far off, and to normal ears, would have been the distant trill of the wind. Finn knew far better. That probably explained why the vision hurt him so much.

Get moving, or in the immediate future, he was dog chow.

The wolf howled the night away, and for the oddest moment, Finn felt as though he was moving towards the howl.

Deciding that the night and woods were getting to him, Finn hurried on. The howl ended later as the moon made valiant attempts to be seen through the canopy to the ground below.

Finally, the mansion loomed above Finn. He hurried to the door, knocked once, and entered.

It was a mansion in the middle of the forest no one returned from. He was just going with the bare necessities of civilization.

Finn entered the mansion, and despite the dust, the mansion was overall…nice. The floors were wood with polish and rugs, the doors didn't creak and scare him, and the décor was fabulous. There were murals along the walls of nightly revelry between elves and such woodland creatures. Finn crept along the downstairs, and admired the layout.

It seemed that there were two wings and at least four stories for the main building, two stories of basement, and four stories for the attic. The gardens at the back of the house were extensive, and in the main floor alone, there were four grand ballrooms and many smaller antechambers.

Finn whistled, before cutting it off. No way was he summoning the attention of anything out there. As it was, the whistle was piercing and loud, despite how soft he had meant it to be. It seemed to echo in the silence, even though no more noise was made.

Just to be safe, Finn crept to the second floor avoiding the windows, and made it into what looked to be a guest bed chamber. The whole room was done in pale greens and creamy whites, with gold trim.

The bed was big enough for him and his dads, and there was even what appeared to be a personal wash room. Finn dragged the chair over and propped it against the door leading to the hallway. Now no one was coming in and surprising him.

Finn reckoned that in the morning he would feel quite silly for all of this, but he was tired, paranoid, and his stomach rumbled to remind him, forced to march on an empty stomach through pain, fear, and wonderment.

Finn broke open what little food and water he had left. He stood at the wash basin, and ate his food. Then he swept the crumbs out of the window for the birds, shut the window and put everything back where he had found it.

Hey, his paranoid father taught him that standing out in a crowd was the best way to be spotted. So blend in.

Then Finn stripped off his dirty clothes and settled into the oh so very soft sheets of the bed. He had never felt sheets this soft before- he almost felt bad for getting them dirty.

Almost.

Finn drifted off to sleep.

…..

Outside, many miles from the mansion, a lone wolf pricks up his ears. The whole body of the wolf was black, with fierce red eyes, white teeth, and a silver line that jagged across his brow and into his ruff. Well, well. Not only was Master Cyclonis leaving for the shore and would wait for the news, there was a human somewhere nearby. Perhaps he was taking refuge in the old house used to be Master's nursery?

The wolf grinned. How delicious, and what perfect timing. Master's new toys that she absolutely admired were taking her attention from him. He needed something to keep as a toy for himself.

The wolf began to walk at a leisurely pace.

After all, the boy wouldn't know he was coming for him until he was devoured.

…..

Said boy was leisurely waking up to the soft sheets and a slight problem. He hissed, the soft sheets making it worse.

It was one thing to get dirt on them, like Atmos he was going to soil them. With more curses, he rolled the sheets off and felt the cool morning air hit him. He groped for a spare piece of cloth, then remembering that he was quite alone, slide out of bed and hobbled to the private room.

There he discovered the joys of indoor plumbing. It was so odd, not needing to haul buckets of waste out to the rubbish, or haul water in for a lukewarm bath. Finn decided that trying out the knobs in the strange cubicle was the best thing that ever happened to him. He could hear the water in the pipes, and if he turned it all off and listened hard, he could discern where the water went.

Certainly it was going outside. And the water wasn't even stagnant. It was fresh and clean- and quite cold.

His problem was gone soon, and Finn quickly scrubbed off two layers of dirt and one layer of skin. Then he hopped out of the cubicle, turned the water off, grabbed a towel, and proceeded to make himself decent. Wearing the clothes he had one while traveling did not appeal to him. They were still dirty, and no one else was around to clean them.

Instead, he found a robe of sorts and wore that while he used the cubicle to wash his clothes and hang them to dry.

He then searched the rest of the mansion. It was huge. He got lost several times, and by sheer luck was able to map out the core of the building. Then he decided to check on the clothes as it was past noon, and his stomach was growling at him.

Perhaps the garden out back had an orchard?

Finding his clothes clean and dry, Finn dressed and headed outside.

…..

The wolf stopped a few miles from the mansion. He could go in and confront the boy, but where was the fun in that? He needed to drive the boy to open ground. That way, if Master had willfully placed the boy there under her protection, he, Dark Ace, could claim that the boy left of his own free will and was fair game.

Padding around in a circle, curling up, Dark Ace settled in to wait for night fall. He hadn't even seen the boy yet, and he was planning how to conquer him.

He really needed a distraction, and training Master's red headed pet wasn't it.

…

Finn found more than just an orchard. He found what looked to be a whole farm in the back of the garden. Or, near the back. He wasn't sure how far he had traveled, just that resting under the tree and having a snack was a very good thing. The apples, in the late fall, were very juicy. He made sure to keep himself clean for the most part, and remembered to eat the whole apple, including the core (but not the stem).

Growing up as a traveling companion to a paranoid father taught Finn a lot about what was good to eat and what to turn your nose up to.

Settling under the trees, Finn dozed off and on. It was to the sinking sun that he made his way with an armful of apples back to the mansion.

He entered the mansion and trudged his way upstairs. He picked a different room to sleep in, spreading the apples over the bed and flopping onto it. This one was done in a dark purple with black and mauve trimming.

Finn shrugged.

Next time, he would check out the décor before deciding to move in. With a shrug, Finn mentally gave the room points back for having a canopy bed with drawing curtains around it.

He had only heard of such contraptions for the nobles, who didn't want to be murdered in their sleep.

With a chuckle, Finn devoured the three apples he had brought back with him.

Then he settled in to sleep, still in his clothes.

…..

It was the feeling of not being alone that woke him up. His vision was fritzing on him, not forming a clear picture. The feeling of dread wasn't helping either. Quietly, Finn brought himself to the edge of the bed. Then he hooked a hand into the canopy and brought his chin up to the level of the hand.

Then he lifted up the other arm. He kicked a leg over, and then rolled onto the canopy. Now the only way he going to be found was if they thought of hiding in the bed canopy, had a ladder, or he made a noise.

Finn rolled onto his stomach and proceeded to wait the feeling of dread out.

No wonder his vision was on the fritz. Whoever it was was in the here and now. They were searching the mansion, and with much more familiarity than he had.

Finn fought against the urge to call out to them. Finding a stranger in one's house was not usually the best way to start off a relationship.

Whoever it was entered the room. Finn cursed in his head for not thinking to be watching. If he moved now, he would definitely be found.

They looked around, and finding nothing out of the ordinary, left.

Finn thanked his lucky stars that he had fallen asleep on top of the bed, and not under the covers.

…..

Dark Ace grinned. Whoever the boy was, he smelled delicious. He had only been here for nearly two days, and Dark Ace felt bad for chasing him out of his haven so soon.

Oh well. The sooner the hunt began, the sooner Dark Ace could claim him. He was already ready to- well, hello there.

What have we here? Kicked off bed sheets?

Dark Ace padded over to the bed in the green and cream room, and sniffed the sheets.

Oh, that was nice. Pity the boy-no. He was a young man. Pity he hadn't finished. The boy smelled of virginity, but he was also quite aware of pleasure.

Dark Ace fisted the sheets and inhaled the lingering scent of arousal.

Down boy, he mentally chided himself. The child had brains, hiding in the canopy.

He grinned at the irony. He made himself comfortable, and breathed in the scent of his soon to be toy.

The human wouldn't know what had sunk its fangs into him.

The Elven Lord smiled.

…

Finn quivered. The dread feeling wasn't going away. Finally deciding that it wouldn't, he rolled over and tried to get some sleep.

He would risk departure in the morning.

…..

Dark Ace rose before the sun did. He set out and was soon back in his wolf form for the day. Wagging his tail, he waited for his quarry to appear.

…..

Finn moaned and shifted. He felt like he was suspended, and that nothing was supporting him- and then he rolled off the edge of the canopy and plummeted to his death.

Finn woke up while he was still rolling off the edge. With a gasp, he grabbed the edge and swung himself onto the forgiving bounce of the bed rather than the uncaring floor. He lay there and breathed for a moment.

Then he got ready to leave.

His tunic and leggings were still clean, and his bag was soon filled with apples and the water skin tight but not bursting with clean water.

Then he struck out for the woods.

….

The hunt was on.

….

Finn reached a cave in the middle of nowhere. There were no longer trees, but thickets all about. Finn hoped that he would find some clean water soon. The last of his apples was withered and crinkled.

He ate it anyway.

Then he curled up in a miserable ball and fell asleep.

…..

Dark Ace watched his charge. Oh, he was not eyeing the waist line- okay, he was. The human looked too thin for his age, but once he had taken off his shirt in the week since he had left the nursery and displayed those lean muscles, Dark Ace swore that the human would be his.

He had howled at the moon, for Woodland's sake!

The boy had wisely stayed awake that night and put on a forced march the next day. Dark Ace dogged his steps and watched over him. In two more days, not only would it be snowing, but the human would be entering deserted Wyld Fae area.

He would be ripe for the picking.

…..

Finn moaned. His visions were still blurry. The only time that had happened before was when he wanted to know if Stork and he would stay with the blacksmith, Junko.

The only reason he couldn't see the vision was because Junko had already decided that they would stay if they wanted to.

In a sense, the future was set.

Finn worried about how someone he had yet to meet had already decided his fate. Realizing that he hadn't met anyone since coming to the forest, he settled into the cave.

The cave was too small for a bear, and far too shallow. Just perfect for Finn to crawl into and go to sleep. So he did.

…..

He moved on with no food or water. The feeling of dread persisted at the back of his mind, but it was becoming his constant companion, so he let it be. He came across deer tracks that day, and searched around for food that if suitable for a deer, might be suitable for him.

He found some berries and ate them, after checking that eating them was safe.

Then he continued on.

…..

Dark Ace growled at the deer. How dare they try to run off and tell that chicken-feathered bird brain that there was a human in the area, and that he was unclaimed!

Snarling, he leapt into their midst.

Now, the Dark Ace was the Queen of Darkness and Air right hand man. He was a feared Knight of the court of High Fae, and a strong Elven Lord.

But jumping into the middle of a pack of deer was still the most stupid move he had ever done in his years of existence. Sheer luck was the only reason not a doe, buck, or fawn got past him.

Once he was done savaging them and ate his fill, he dragged a carcass into the way of the boy's path.

If he ate Dark Ace's kill, he would be accepting the courting of the Elven Lord.

Not that the boy knew that.

…..

Finn awoke and nearly tripped over the carcass of the some animal with the neck savagely torn out of it.

Well, not really, but the shock certainly felt like that. In truth, he had walked quite a ways into the woods before noticing a smell, and quite unlike him, he was upon the kill before he knew it.

His stomach growled.

Finn blushed. He was starving, and the kill looked fresh, the blood was still dripping from the intestines…

Finn felt his stomach roil. Perhaps he shouldn't eat it.

…..

Dark Ace felt his breath bated, his heart slamming in his chest.

Would the human take the offering?

Certainly, Master had used far more tact, appearing as an old crone to the two wandering friends, wishing for some food.

They had shared what little they had with her, the girl crooning over her while the boy dug through his packs.

A horse had come along with them, but paid Master Cyclonis no mind.

After eating, she had shared what little water she had with them. They were most grateful, and each had a mouthful. The boy than offered for her to ride on the horse…and well, the rest was history. She brought them to her lodging, seduced them, and in an odd turn of events, they seduced her.

The court was not privy to this information, as Ravess had hissed that a few hundred years ago, she would have used the same knowledge to drive her Queen out and seize power.

The young Ones must be trained in their ways and be immortal, or else the Queen would suffer. Ravess had emphasized that point, making it very clear that Master Cyclonis must be protected in this endeavor.

Her brother agreed with her, and for the time being, the toys were never far from their Queen, as she was known to be with her new trivial, fleeting interests.

Dark Ace snorted. This wasn't trivial or fleeting, whatever it was. He felt he would cry if his advancement was spurned.

Which was odd, in and of itself.

The human knelt down.

…

Finn picked a piece of muscle out, and deciding that his stomach could handle it, bite into the meat.

….

Dark Ace felt his heart sing. The human was eating his kill, and Dark Ace just wanted to throw him into the deer carcass and ravish him. He wanted to smear the blood from his kill all over the human, and like it off. To run their blood together and feel joined.

He wanted for the human to writhe under him and his prowess, to scream and be filled by him, his scent, his touch, his voice. To possess him.

Dark Ace reigned himself in. He could- no, he would introduce such pleasure to the human once he was claimed and there was no chance that he would ever leave him.

The human would be his and his alone. Even Master Cyclonis would respect that. Feeling a growl grow in his throat, Dark Ace breathed. If he growled now, the human would think that whatever killed the deer wanted the rest of its kill and bolt. He wanted the human to eat his fill.

…..

Finn felt sated. Whatever the venison was, rare and bloody, it certainly filled his stomach up.

Glad for having tried the food, he made his way past the deer, murmuring a prayer of thanks for the deer's life, that its death now filled his belly.

…..

Dark Ace watched him go, then went forward and skinned the deer with practice hands. He had a plan forming in his head.

…..

Finn rolled under the tree and felt something wet.

Deciding that opening his eyes would help him he opened them and saw a blanket of white. It had snowed.

Apparently winter came fast in the forest.

Then he heard the growling. Shifting his eyes over, Finn saw the gigantic black wolf with a silver streak in his brow growling and looking at him.

There was blood on his pearly white fangs.

Guess that was what killed the deer, and he didn't need his visions to tell him that. Slowly, Finn got up and started backing away. The wolf lunged for him.

With a scream, Finn dashed through the bush and made for the trees, dodging and weaving through them. He let his feet find the way through the roots. He was surprised that he hadn't fallen yet, that the wolf had yet to sink it's fangs into him.

Sobbing for breath, Finn collapsed under an overhang. No way had he just outrun a wolf. Desperately, he slung his shirt and bag into the bushes and tracked carefully to avoid leaving a trail, then hid up a tree. He needed to confuse the wolf into following a different scent, or believe that it had lost him.

The wolf passed by, and sniffed the bushes before he began searching. He entered them, and then came back out. He began to search around the clearing.

Fate decided that just then, Finn's stomach was to growl.

Cursing in his mind, Finn held very still. Perhaps the wolf would think it was the wind that groaned so.

He held his breath. His lungs were burning. The wolf continued to sniff around the clearing, before barking and tearing into bushes off to Finn's left. Then the wolf was gone.

Finn heaved a sigh of relief. He got down from the tree and staggered to his feet and set off. He needed to find shelter from the cold.

…..

A short distance away, the wolf stopped and began to circle around. He knew exactly where shelter was just up ahead of his young quarry.

He intended to lure him in with a good fire and hearty food, once he caught and butchered the rabbit for their stew.

No need to use the deer meat, besides, re-wrapping the same gift was so tacky.

…..

Finn found a small cottage, plain but functional in his path. There was smoke from the chimney. Oh, praise Atmos. Civilization, and safety from the wolf.

_Unless the wolf was inside._

Finn shook his head and ignored the stray thought. If the wolf was inside, how could it stand having the fire going and the door latched? Usually cabins don't have a back door, he recalled from living with his dads.

Then he headed up to the cabin door and knocked.

"Hello?"

There was a shuffling inside, and then a latch was being pulled. So the front door could be barricaded, and the windows weren't very open, either. _A bit shaded to prevent looking in._

Finn ignored that thought as well. It was probably shaded that way to help with ventilation.

The door swung open.

"Can I help you?"

Finn had a very strong flash back to the wolf in the clearing. All black, with pearly white teeth and a silver brow- no, this was a man. Just like him.

Finn forced himself to take a deep breath and answer while his heart hammered in his throat.

"I need shelter. From a wolf." He blurted out on two breaths.

The man grinned- ferally- and stepped aside. "Come in, stranger." He offered the first two words, and drawled the last one. It was a strange way of speaking, but it certainly held Finn's attention.

He examined the man while he moved into the room. He was tall, a good head and neck taller than Finn, who was willowy and tall for his age. Thankfully his shoulders were just below Finn's ear line. He had short black hair, and wore what looked to be part of a helmet or crown. It framed his face and made his face stand out- but his red eyes were what really caught Finn's attention.

"Are you hungry? I just returned from hunting and was preparing some rabbit stew."

Finn tracked the man with his eyes. "I-yes, please. That would be lovely."

The man smiled at him, before sitting down and continuing to skin a rabbit with practiced hands. Finn had watched Stork prepare such meals before, and suddenly an urge to help struck him with the memory.

"Is there anything I can do? To help?" Finn stammered out. Atmos, where was his tongue? He was usually a very smooth talker when he met people.

The man stopped, and glanced at Finn.

"Actually, I'd ask you to fill the pot with water and get it boiling, but you said a wolf was following you?"

"I- think so. I ate some of the wolf's kill in hunger and I think it's mad at me."

…

Finn didn't notice how Dark Ace bent into the task of skinning the rabbit to hide the grin on his face. Oh, he anything but mad.

…..

"Well, if the wolf did follow you, I'd hate to offer you sanctuary just for you to step outside and be killed. Why don't you wrap yourself up in the deer hide and warm yourself by the fire? I doubt you run around shirtless- unless there's a wolf chasing you." Dark Ace pretended to be busy with the cleaning of the rabbit to avoid looking at Finn and spooking him so early in the hunt.

Finn blushed and realized that he was indeed shirtless, and he had left his bag at the clearing. Oh well. He wasn't risking his life for clothes.

Hopefully he wouldn't have to.

"I-oh, I've been so rude. My name is Finn." Finn held his hand out as he moved to the mentioned deer skin. The man looked up, then at his bloodied hand.

Finn smiled to show it was okay.

Grasping his hand despite the blood, Dark Ace smiled. Somehow, it reached his eyes, the pleasant expression at knowing his quarry's name.

"Mine's Dark Ace."

…..

The human was pleasantly wrapped in the deer skin and warming by the fire. He told Dark Ace nearly all of his life's history, and Dark Ace truthfully answered that he couldn't recall when or how long he had been living in the forest.

The stew was hearty and warming, and Finn begged excuse for yawning hugely and nodding off. He offered to do the dishes, but Dark Ace waved him off. He told Finn not to worry, and then carried him to one of the beds.

Finn meeped in surprise. Dark Ace gave a low, rumbling laugh, before laughing out right at Finn's antics.

"It's okay, I'm used to lifting heavy objects. Although to me, you could stand to gain a few pounds."

Finn frowned and crossed his arms, the deer skin sliding off and revealing his chest.

"I've always been skinny, there's just no helping it. Stork would speculate with me that that was why I was abandoned as a child- my parent's didn't think that I would survive."

Dark Ace paid attention the sobering words, using them to focus on before he started to eye rape his prey.

He set Finn down and pulled the deer skin over him.

"Rest now. I'm going out to spread some confusing scents so the wolf won't find you. At least, not straight away."

Finn nodded, and watched as Dark Ace left. Then he closed his eyes, and drifted off.

…..

Dark Ace bounded through the snow like a pup. His name is Finn! His name is Finn!

Shaking himself, he got down to business. He was feeling ridiculous for behaving in such an odd manner, but for some reason, just knowing that the boy's name was Finn was sending him on an emotional high. Scratching and marking, he made a circuit around the cabin. It was already known as his territory, won and defended by him, not his Queen, but he wanted everything to go as planned. By springtime, he would have a mate to show off to- Dark Ace stopped that thought cold.

Once he was certain that no other Fae, Wyld or otherwise, was going to wander onto his territory, he resumed his human form and strode back to his house.

He also resumed thinking. This planning was going to take far more than just claiming Finn. He needed Finn's subjugation, either in word or deed, to be loyal to Dark Ace. Then he needed him to pledge loyalty to Queen Cyclonis.

But he nearly made the same mistake that Master had just avoided. Taking a human into their world is a delicate process.

It was a drain on her powers to support Aerrow and Piper while they made the transfer from humans into Elves. Once Elven, they would need to rise up through the court on their own and then become legal consorts and advisors to her, not just a fleeting, fanciful toy.

Dark Ace thought of Finn, standing there at his threshold. His chest bare from the run with sweat causing him to glow, his breaths heaving his chest, his wide blue eyes panicked. His lips forming around the words that brought him to Dark Ace.

He growled.

Oh, Finn would definitely be worth the wait.

…

Finn heard the door open, and softly close. He herd Dark Ace rustle through his clothes, and then creak into a bed on the opposite side of the room.

Finn opened his eyes.

Dark Ace had been gone for hours; the moon was already on her way down.

His breath caught. The dying embers and moonlight caught the scars on his back. There were a great many.

Thinking that the pain must have injured him, for old injuries and scars acted up from the cold, Finn slipped out of the bed. Then he heated some water in a clean pan by the fire, got a clean cloth, and whispered, "Uhm, Dark Ace?"

"If you're going to all this trouble for a few scars, I'd hate to roll over and show you my front."

Finn bit his lip.

"Its, well, you were gone for so long that I thought they were hurting you and…my dad is a blacksmith, I know how those injuries can pile up."

Dark Ace sighed, before rolling onto his stomach and stretching his arms forward and his legs backward.

"If you won't be able to sleep if I don't let you, go ahead."

Finn beamed at him, and noticing that Dark Ace was face down in his pillow, said "Thank you."

Dark Ace grunted.

The warmed cloth making contact with his skin was an entirely new sensation. The kneading wasn't new, but Finn seemed to know just how to tease the knots out of his muscles, sinking the heat to the bone.

Dark Ace sighed and felt himself relax. If Finn could do this to him with just his hands, what would he be like when Finn was underneath him? Thrusting and growling, most likely.

No.

He needed Finn to be where he was. This was rapidly turning from a conquest to a need to claim to a need for Finn to decide to stay with him, by his side. He needed Finn to be in this feeling of bliss with him. Simply taking pleasure for himself would cheapen the conquest. Besides, Finn was too valuable a prize to throw away.

With a groan, he sank into his cot. Finn was in his bed, but it was way too soon. He needed Finn to be somewhat willing in order for a binding to hold up to scrutiny. He did not think it wise to beat the blood and guts out of the entire Fae court in order to claim Finn in a legal standing.

He could if it came to that- oh wow, he didn't know there was a knot there.

"Oh, this is heavenly. Feel free to stay the rest of your life." Dark Ace murmured into the pillow.

Finn gave a wry smile. "Well, I certainly don't know a way back, and my father did order me to run into the forest to escape the Raiders, so I don't think he expects me back. At least, not anytime soon."

Dark Ace felt his ears prick. "Oh?"

"I'm gifted. I have visions that let me see the most likely course of events. Only, I haven't been able to see what's in my immediate future. Someone made a decision that affects me greatly and it can't change, so for now, my fixed path can't be seen with the Sight."

Finn felt troubled for blurting all this out.

"You aren't going to take advantage of me, are you?"

"A gift that powerful? You'd trick me into walking off of a cliff if I did. You are one scary little boy, you know that?"

"Hey, I'm seventeen now! I'll be eighteen soon, and allowed to chose who I want to…marry." Dark Ace rolled himself over as Finn's voice faltered and failed him.

"What's the matter?" He lifted Finn's face slightly to see the tears that were beginning to build in Finn's eyes.

"I-I mentioned that I had two friends, remember? Their names are Aerrow and Piper. They ran away into the forest 'cause Piper's dad forbade Aerrow from seeing her and wanted her to marry the lord, but I knew it was a wrong fit and now here I am, in the forest and I don't know if they're alive…." Finn felt tears flowing down his face.

Dark Ace sat up, wrapping his arms around Finn, and both cursed and blessed the blanket at his waist. Why couldn't he have picked tonight to have been one of the rare nights he slept with some pants on?

"There, there. I'm sure that they made it to somewhere safe. Just like in a town, this Woodland has its dangers and its safety. If they stayed together and didn't go chasing any floating lights, I'm certain that you'll meet up with them again."

_Seeing as how I've met them and their talking horse._

Finn nodded into Dark Ace's shoulder, before taking a few deep breathes and leaning back into his chair.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me."

"Perhaps the stress of the wolf chasing you caught up. I've contemplated how one stress can magnify another." Dark Ace offered soothingly.

Finn nodded.

"But enough of that. We can talk more in the morning. Good night, and thank you for the massage."

"You're welcome." Finn called back in a low whisper.

He settled in to sleep in the deer skin again, and Dark Ace murmured a spell into the air to deepen his sleep. Then he rutted against his hand to relieve the scent, hearing, and feeling of his Finn into the night. Cleaned from his act with the discarded shirt, Dark Ace drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, he was going to put up wards to keep Finn from wandering away from the cabin, five miles worth of warning ought to do it.

The plot of land he owned was only three hundred acres worth.

Dark Ace grinned into the darkness as he passed into sleep. Oh, yes, Finn would be his.

…..

Finn awoke to the smell of meat frying. Blearily, he sat up. No visions slammed him, and he cautiously looked around.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Finn surveyed the cabin. There was the bed in the corner, a single, the one he was in. A cot near the fire broke the open space. The door was closed, and the sunlight made shafts of glowing motes in the small area it reached.

There was a room in the back; created more by a half wall that prevented Finn from seeing into it. A dresser was pressed against the far wall.

The wolf was lying by the fire. Finn started, his panic consuming him. Then there were hands on him.

"It's okay, shhh, it's okay…."

Not the wolf. Just Dark Ace. Finn started to regulate his breathing once the lurching motion of his chest leveled out.

"I'm so sorry. I should have warned you that waking up in strange place usually isn't very good." Dark Ace murmured to him. He began to rub Finn's back, soothing the adolescent and filling his senses with Finn.

Finn started to relax, finally leaning against Dark Ace.

"I- I saw- I saw the wolf, by the fire."

Dark Ace paused. "And with your gift, there's no chance that it's just the paranoia speaking?"

"No. My father said that was the only problem- you can catch diseases, but you can't catch common sense." Finn cracked a grin at his lame joke.

Dark Ace continued to sooth him. He had to tread carefully. The wards were just put up. He couldn't fully limit Finn to the area until they had more time to set in, so that Finn would end up walking in a giant circle right back to the cabin.

"Well, how about this. I own an extensive array of weaponry. Perhaps you can pick one out and I'll train you to defend yourself?"

"Got any crossbows or long bows?"

Dark Ace frowned. "I'm a bit short on long bows," _since Ravess would laugh her head off_ "but I should have a crossbow handy."

"Then I'm all set."

"You haven't asked if I even have bolts yet."

"Dude, we're in the middle of a forest. I could make some." Finn rested his head against Dark Ace. The feeling of being held by someone was pervading his senses, and he was falling into Dark Ace's embrace.

"Did you just call me…?"

Finn straightened up. "Ack, I'm so sorry. It's a slang term I use, it's a far more familiar way of saying 'sir'."

Dark Ace regretted spoiling the chance to have Finn hang off of him. "It's okay, I just never heard that name before."

"Uhm, it's more of a pronoun than a noun. I mean, it's not a proper name."

Dark Ace smiled to show that everything was okay, but in the back of his head, he stopped the plans for finding this 'dude' and slaughtering him. The thought of anyone taking first place in Finn's mind over him made Dark Ace want to track the bastard down and slaughter him.

"How about some breakfast? I'm nearly done with the meat." Dark Ace eased himself off of the bed, and Finn followed. The morning was warm, but then again, there were walls and a fire between Finn's bare chest and the snow. Not to mention, Dark Ace had cuddled him.

Finn walked over to the fire, where a small table for two was pulled from against the wall. Dark Ace pulled three of sausages from the pan and handed them to Finn, keeping two to himself. Finn ate one and finding the blend of meat and spice enjoyable, devoured half of another.

He was full at that point.

Dark Ace gave him a look with a raised eyebrow. "I'm full." Finn explained.

"Well, no wonder you're so skinny then." Dark Ace accepted the sausages and devoured the remaining half. He set the last sausage in an ice box behind the wall, where the fire's warmth couldn't reach.

"So, shall we see about that training?"

…

The days of winter passed in friendship. Finn found he wanted less and less to return to his fathers, and even found himself growing apart from that world.

There was a brook that ran near the cabin, clear, cold, and strong. Dark Ace would accompany him on days to bathe and wash the clothes.

Sometimes Finn felt as though he was being watched, but he never found out by whom. Anytime he asked Dark Ace, the man would say he had been staring, and Finn rolled his eyes.

No way was the stare he was feeling coming from the man who shared his cabin with him. Whoever it was, it was possessive. He shared an amicable relationship with Dark Ace. He wasn't in any danger from him.

_Ah, but what do you really know about him?_ The vision was creeping back into Finn's head. He started to brush it off, but then stopped himself.

Taking a deep breath, he faced the water.

He actually didn't know about Dark Ace. He was assuming that the man wasn't about to lock him away and fatten him up for eating. Finn scolded himself for thinking badly of his host, but the dread and need to survive was pressing on him greater than it had been these past few weeks.

Finn steadied his breathing. He gazed into the water. Soon, an image began to appear. This time-

"Noooo!" Finn's strangled scream cut through the air. He heaved, and gasped. Choking, he struggled to reach Dark Ace in his panic.

"Raiders! They- they're cutting into the forest!" he gasped.

Dark Ace had charged into the stream fully clothed and held Finn as he struggled to stand on his feet. The water only came up to waist height, yet Finn was in serious danger of drowning.

Finn clung to him, soaking his once drying clothes. Tears were streaming down his face.

"The war…" he choked out.

Dark Ace held him as Finn went into hysterics. He finally put his hand, the part where it was flat on the outside, into Finn's mouth. Finn bit down, drawing blood. Dark Ace had feared that the blonde child would bit off his tongue in the fit, and now, as he pulled his hand back, Finn calmed somewhat.

"We- we have to go. If we stay here, the forest gets decimated. Do you know where…?" Finn turned his eyes up to Dark Ace. His mind was a jumble of panic, fear and despair leaking from the vision and into his current mind set. His eyes were dilated from the vision, his breath short and he continued to squirm as though to bolt at the slightest provocation.

Dark Ace gazed into the cerulean orbs and lost himself in them. He picked Finn up and carried him to the bank. Laying Finn on the grass, he proceeded to rub Finn down.

"Calm down. I know exactly who to go to. Her title is Queen of Darkness and Air."

Finn gapped at him. "You- you know the Elven Queen?"

"Why do you use 'the'?" Dark Ace challenged. "There has always been two Queens, each with her own Court."

Finn shook his head. "Sorry. The Queen of Darkness and Air is the only one to still reside here, is all. The other one left to explore the ocean. I…can't really explain how I know that."

Dark Ace gauged him. Finally, he let go. "More than likely your mother or father had a tryst with a human and you're a hybrid. That should have been obvious from your heightened senses and your visions."

"Oh. So I was abandoned."

"As is our fashion."

Finn froze. His eyes turned up to Dark Ace who towered above him.

_You don't really know him._

He bolted.

….

He hadn't meant to scare Finn, but now that the cat was out of the proverbial bag, he had to stop him from harming himself. Or escaping.

Dark Ace grinned ferally at the sight of the younger tearing through the woods and deeper into his land.

Oh, Finn was a delicious prize.

He shifted into his wolf form and began to track Finn, giving him a full hour to put distance between them.

He would give Finn a seemingly fair chance.

…

Finn wheezed for breath. As much as he hoped to have escaped Dark Ace, he knew it wasn't so. He weighed his options.

He knew very little about the Fae. All he really did know was to stay out of the forest, it is their domain and no one has survived to return.

He knew absolutely none of their customs. What if he had entered in a deal with Dark Ace?

Finn felt his blood run cold. A deal with a Fae….there were stories of people who had dealings with the Fae from hundreds of years ago. Stories Finn wouldn't know about if Piper hadn't taught him to read. He knew very little of the Fae, but he had read about them in skimming the texts of the old tomes.

The dusty tomes at the bottom of the library stacks had very beautiful pictures in them. Some of them he hadn't understood then, but now that he recalled them, a great many of them had been of gruesome torture or deals between Fae or Fae and humans.

Finn panted, and began looking for a place to hide. If he sought a way to return home, perhaps his partial heritage would allow him to.

He racked his brains as he wandered deeper into the forest. He knew he had passed the cabin by then, and it would be stupid to hide in Dark Ace's own home.

Finn felt himself stop short.

Should he take his chances with the Fae or with the wolf?

A howl behind him caused Finn to glance back, and then begin searching for shelter anew.

He would have to chance both, in wet clothes, with no food, no shelter, and no idea how he was going to get out of this.

Finn felt his breath catch. He had no idea. His visions were blurry since he had….Finn crinkled his forehead in concentration. He hadn't had a vision all winter. Whatever was decided in his future, it didn't matter if the wolf or Fae captured him.

Finn slumped to the ground. He could hear the wolf getting closer. His future was decided by someone else. What would it take for him to be able to decide his own future?

Finn used the tree to level himself to his feet. He needed to find a stream, or water, or….the vestiges of snow glittered around him.

Finn made his way to an unbroken patch.

He needed to know what came after. What happened to him after the wolf or the Fae caught him.

….

Dark Ace surged along the trail. Finn's scent filled his breath; the pounding rustles of his escape had silenced a short while ago.

Was he lying in wait with a trap?

No. Was he giving up? Considering his options?

Had he made the connection between Fae and wolf being one and the same and Dark Ace?

Dark Ace shook his head and sneezed. There was no way that Finn would know that. Perhaps fear of being savaged by the wolf would drive Finn back to him, apologizing for the panicked response.

But then again, he had seen Dark Ace's face. When he told Finn that it was their way to abandon children, he hadn't meant it as harsh as it sounded.

Children, even Halflings, were rare and cherished. To abandon a child meant that the circumstances were very dire, and the child would be left to survive.

But that hadn't been on his mind when he answered Finn. He was thinking that Finn was so perfect for him. Finn, who had lain on the bank under him with wet clothes and flushed expression. His desires must have shown through his face and spooked Finn. Finn, who didn't even know the pleasures of masturbation, was running from him and what he embodied.

Well, he would just have to corrupt his young Finn. Dark Ace slowed to leaping bounds. He was closing in.

…

Finn watched the future outline itself to him. Once he had accepted that he would be captured by either wolf or Fae, he saw himself in a vision.

He was at a table, drinking from a goblet and feeding Dark Ace. He was sitting in Dark Ace's lap, who had a protective arm curled around his waist.

Piper and Aerrow were there too. They were curled around the throne set near, yet above, Dark Ace and them. A figure cloaked in Darkness and Air would occasionally stroke them, and they would sigh and lean into the affection.

Finn pulled out of the vision.

Whatever came next, all's well that ends well. Everyone certainly radiated happiness in the vision. Now, if only he could be strong enough to arrive at the future he saw.

…

Dark Ace neared the clearing where Finn had a fire going. Finn was sitting down, facing him. He swallowed as the wolf approached him.

"Nice wolf." He ulped, holding out a hand.

Dark Ace grinned. So he hadn't figured it out. Well, time to finish this.

He docilely licked Finn's hand, and then rubbed against him. He began to lick Finn's face. Finn froze, scarcely breathing as the wolf's jaws and teeth gleamed so close to his neck.

Then the wolf opened his mouth. Finn put his neck into the jaws. The wolf bit down.

Finn didn't whimper as the wolf sucked and laved at this whole throat. Instead, he moaned and fell back. The wolf was wholly capable of tearing his throat out, yet Finn found the attention to be…nice.

He refrained from wriggling and pushing himself into the wolf's maw, and instead shifted so that the wolf stood over him.

The beast was truly magnificent, bigger than even Finn was stretched out, the wolf covered most of Finn and his tail stretched past Finn's legs. Something that wasn't the tail started to push against Finn's stomach.

The wolf wanted to-!

Having a wolf tear most of his upper shirt off and then lay on him was not a fun sensation. Not when he was terrified of exactly how his night was about to be spent. The feel of the wolf's bristles against Finn's chest was starting to alarm him.

Finn felt the sheer weight of the wolf pin him down. The beast resumed licking him, reassuring him, and keeping Finn distracted.

The wolf nipped at a few spots, and getting the idea, Finn flipped over. He was terrified.

_Dark Ace, where are you?_

…

Dark Ace proceeded to tease the material off of Finn and sink back on him. So far, Finn was subjugated. He willingly caved beneath him, and even when he struggled in fear, he still settled to do as Dark Ace wished.

He was content to lie there on Finn until the younger put two and two together. After all, he finally had Finn under him, but Finn wasn't anywhere near the same bliss as he was. Finn was terrified, and as delicious as the scent was, Finn would smell thousands of times better in euphoria.

He returned to laving Finn with kisses and comforting him.

….

The wolf was now licking the back of his neck and shoulders. The feeling of imminent rape began to leave Finn. The wolf was horny, but it wasn't making any more advancement beyond ensuring that Finn stayed put.

Finn decided to test the waters. He shook his head, as though annoyed with the attention from the licking.

The wolf immediately stopped, huffed, and laid its head down next to his.

The feeling of pelt and bristles now completely covered Finn. He rolled a bit, before settling again. There was a patch of rock just above his hip, and it was starting to dig in with the added weight.

He whistled. The wolf pricked its ears up and looked at him. Finn gestured to his side. The wolf got to the feet and towered above Finn, who slowly, under the wolf's gaze, pulled the rock out and tossed it to the side.

Then Finn settled again and the wolf laid on him. The wolf was behaving….strangely. It was as though the wolf wanted what was best for Finn, which was a great change from snarling at him and chasing him to-

"Dark Ace."

It all made sense. Dark Ace was the only one Finn had contact with for the past season. He was the only one who was used to Finn. He thought that the wolf was in the cabin, his vision's final warning before his future was sealed.

"Finn." The wolf growled, and then Finn wasn't pinned down by a wolf anymore. A lean, strong, male body pressed into him from above.

"Seems like you're ready to continue."

…..

Finn felt his mind blank.

What did Dark Ace mean, continue? Dark Ace rolled his body into Finn's making sure to grind his very interested sexual organ into Finn's lower back.

"Do I need to spell it out to you? You're being courted." Dark Ace drawled in the fashion that Finn just found so alluring in the man's growl.

"You- you're a Fae and a wolf…none of the old tomes mentioned that."

Dark Ace sighed. He really wanted to culminate the months of the hunt here and now, but Finn wasn't ready yet.

Besides, he couldn't enjoy himself if Finn wasn't begging for more and focused on only him.

"It's a trait very few have. I'm referred to as an Elven Lord, and currently I hold the position of Knight to Her Majesty, the Queen of Darkness and Air. There's an entire court vacationing at the sea side on the other edge of the Woodlands, and I am going to bring them news of the war and of your vision. But," He cut Finn off, "I am not going to bring an unclaimed Halfling into the court of the Fae. I would have to beat off nearly everyone from you just to enter the doors, and I definitely would, if I ever had to, defeat the entire court to have you at my side."

He leaned into Finn's ear. "I saw you, and I've wanted you for so long, since you whistled for me."

Finn twisted around, and looked into Dark Ace's eyes. He held the gaze.

Neither of them blinked for the longest time. Simultaneously, the vision broke from the both of them. Finn trembled while Dark Ace rolled and sank onto him.

"Very wise, young one. Scrying your beloved is a very wise move. Do you believe me now?"

"Yes, and you know that I've always believed you." Finn felt his cheek returning, his smooth tongue rolling in his mouth. "You're still Dark Ace. And I will become your worthy mate."

Finn lifted his hips and mimicked the circular motion from earlier. "So what's the hold up, dearest?"

Dark Ace rolled his eyes. "I despise pet names."

Finn smiled at him, "Dark Ace."

The smoky, alluring breath he expelled the name of his Dark Ace with made Dark Ace reel.

He had certainly found a powerful Halfling. But he was free to consummate the joining now.

"We usually do this last, but I can't wait that long." Dark Ace gasped. He reached his left hand across his right, and drew a line. The blood welled.

"Your dominant hand."

Finn held out his right hand, and Dark Ace cut him as well. Then they lowered their mouths and drank the other's blood.

Finn surprised himself by purring into the blood once he was done and licking the wound close. Dark Ace was giving deep growls of pleasure as he buried himself into the bleeding cut. "If you want the bone, you can have it." Finn heard himself say.

There was a snapping sound.

Finn didn't register any pain as Dark Ace sucked the marrow from his arm. Then Dark Ace kissed the wound, the fire light seemed to dance across Finn's arm as the injury vanished.

Dark Ace growled into Finn's ear.

"Prepare yourself."

…

Waking up the morning after your first sexual encounter is a strange way to greet the day. Everything else is the same, but you still feel the seed from your lover seeping its way out of you, as the last round of love occurred only minutes ago. Finn felt sore, but pleasantly so, until he attempted to move and pain radiated through him. Not as painful as a vision, but it was a close second.

Dark Ace had loved him all through the day and into the night, and now it was a full morning after being thoroughly marked and claimed.

No wonder Dark Ace had said the joining couldn't wait. As it was, Dark Ace was nuzzling his hair, whispering,

"Good morning, Finn."

Yeah, he really wasn't big on the pet names. Finn smiled and kissed Dark Ace. He only meant it to be a morning peck on the cheek.

Dark Ace pinned him and thoroughly searched his mouth, without bothering to ask for entrance. Finn compliantly opened his mouth to the invasion, and even sucked back at Dark Ace's tongue as it delved and teased his mouth.

Dark Ace broke, not even panting for breath, and growled, rolling over and began to bite Finn's neck again. Finn giggled. The display of ownership was something he found a bit of a turn on. He also believed that if he hadn't liked it, Dark Ace would have convinced him that it was for the best, feel good and done so anyway.

But he would have done so with reservation, instead of the zeal with which he devoured Finn.

Finn sighed and looped his arms around Dark Ace's neck.

"Shouldn't we get going?" he murmured. Dark Ace groaned.

"I am totally making sure that next time you can't even walk, much less think about leaving until we're both sated."

Finn sighed. "You are an exquisite lover, and my only lover. But the sooner Her Majesty approves, the sooner I can be lewd right back to you. I'm remembering a certain running water cubicle back at the nursery, you called it?"

Dark Ace groaned. "We call it a shower, because it's not quite the same as a waterfall." He gasped out.

His thoughts were now divided between meeting up with Master Cyclonis and introducing his partner to the pleasures of the shower. The images of Finn in the shower warred with the orders and need to warn Master Cyclonis.

Then he could carry Finn to the silken sheets and watch his lover writhe on the bed, begging for his attention, rutting into him-

Whoa. Hold on there. Finn was a Halfling, he wouldn't obtain the trait to transform into an animal anytime soon, and his animal form could be a bird, for all Dark Ace knew.

Yet in his gut, he knew that Finn was completely compatible with him.

"You're right. I claimed you, but now you must satisfy Master Cyclonis that you won't slit my throat when we sleep together. We should catch up to the court." Pulling his brain from the fantasies that were spawning in his head, Dark Ace stretched.

Finn nodded, and waited for Dark Ace to take his own time getting up before he stood up as well. Dark Ace surveyed their ruined clothes, and motioned for Finn to follow him. They arrived at the cabin, and Dark Ace obtained fresh clothes for both of them. Then he settled them with food and walked out. Finn walked beside him.

Dark Ace didn't mention how Finn kept looking at his hand.

"Erm, can I hold your left hand?" Finn's blush was prominent on his face.

"Why my left hand?" Dark Ace questioned right back, wondering why his left hand and not the right one that was the mark of their joining.

"Isn't it the one closer to your heart?" Finn asked bravely. Dark Ace stopped walking he turned to Finn. Finn gazed into his eyes, then felt Dark Ace's left hand slide into his right hand. He grinned and didn't let go.

….

They reached the court in a week's time. Spring was fully underway, and the Queen of Darkness and Air was preparing for the court's annual renewal.

She was also waiting on Dark Ace.

At her side, Piper and Aerrow meditated quietly, listening to the Woodlands. They had made great strides to becoming full Elves, and Piper was even closer to becoming a Scribe and court Mage.

Aerrow was focusing on becoming a Sorcerer in battle. He could already fly on his own, but the pattern was so bizarre, Cyclonis thought that Aerrow allowed the wind itself to guide him, rather than make his own headway.

Both of them would be powerful additions to her side.

Cyclonis watched her lovers with hooded eyes. They noticed her watching, and began to come out of their trances.

"Master?" they question. Cyclonis spread her arms, and they curled into her.

"Soon, we will be seeing our old acquaintances again." She murmured to them. Piper and Aerrow smiled, beaming faces that only she was allowed to cherish.

"But I'm afraid that they bring horrible news, which means the festival will be postponed."

The smiles faded, until Cyclonis was looking into serious faces. "We will protect you." Aerrow insisted. Piper nodded. They were serious, but not grim. They believed in their new found strengths that they could protect what was most important- her.

Cyclonis nodded, and coo'd to them.

She knew that she would sooner abdicate her throne and wander the human world than allow either of them to die.

…

Dark Ace and Finn crested a hill and Finn had to grab Dark Ace's shoulder as he gazed at the settlement the Elves referred to as their court.

No wonder Dark Ace called the mansion a nursery. He could barely make out the far edge of the city against the tree line, and they were looking down on the spread.

Dark Ace chuckled.

"Magnificent, yes? She has done wonders to this world that many have not thought of."

Finn nodded. Then he brought his gaze to Dark Ace. "I've memorized the street's layouts. But I'm still fascinated by your face."

Dark Ace smiled. To be compared to the great city, and be found the better than the marvel….Dark Ace leaned in and soundly kissed Finn.

"That's because the city doesn't get into your pants."

Finn affectionately rubbed his nose to Dark Ace's. Then they proceeded to enter the city, side by side.

…..

The guards at the gate didn't challenge them, but the party line started up about Finn once he was in their sight.

The Dark Ace, walking with a Halfling? A Halfling no one had seen before? Was the delicious morsel claimed?

Dark Ace snarled at the High Court Lady who approached him.

"Grr yourself. It's me, Starling."

Dark Ace rumbled low in his throat. Starling had been courting one of the top commanders without her knowing, last he had heard. For her to be High Court now, it meant that she had succeeded.

"Ravess sent me to ask you to hurry and get the boy announced to our Queen. He's causing quite a ruckus, and it's ruining her concentration on the viola."

Dark Ace snorted. "Tell her to play louder than them, then. It's never stopped her before."

Starling sighed.

"The entire court knows she's dying, Dark Ace. They also know I'm her replacement."

Dark Ace piqued an eyebrow. "And since when did the two of you let the court decide what was to happen?"

Starling grinned, her pointed teeth glinting in the sun. "Just a fair warning that you won't be causing quite the stir you thought you would be."

Then she walked off.

"Why do I get the feeling that it's better to be her friend than not know her?" Finn piped up from Dark Ace's side, where he watched the conversation.

For some reason, he'd been unable to hear a word of what they said. It had sounded like a bird chirping to a wolf.

Dark Ace grinned.

"That is one of the top Colonel's in Her Majesty's Army, and she has set her sights a little high in her courting."

Finn breathed out a sigh. "Well, good luck to her."

"Yes, Ravess is certainly hard to pin down."

Finn rolled his eyes and affectionately held Dark Ace closer.

….

They met the Queen of Darkness and Air, ruler of all Cyclonia, the official title for the Woodlands, in her gardens.

Finn approached her on his own, knelt down, and kissed her offered finger. She laughed. "You certainly found one with manners." She addressed to Dark Ace.

"He is truly a gem. I hunted for him the entire winter."

They bantered back and forth over Finn's head. Finn paid close attention to the conversation, and found that this time, he could clearly understand them.

He wanted to ask why that was, but he would wait for the Queen to notice him.

As the sun set, she finally did.

"And what is your name, little one?"

"Finn, and can I marry Dark Ace now?"

Cyclonis blinked, and then burst out laughing. "Oh, your cheek is very strong. I pronounce you Joined, Dark Ace, and Finn."

Finn waited.

Cyclonis felt her lip curl. This one was good. "You may rise."

Finn rose, spun around, and jumped onto Dark Ace.

"Geez! You certainly know how to push a guy to his limits, m'lady." Cyclonis shook her head.

"You actually passed with flying colors. I expect you to navigate the court with such careful steps until you are feared as much or more than my own Knight. But for now, let the messengers warn off any potential mates."

She grinned darkly.

"By the time the war is over, you will have recognition for being the strongest Seer in the whole court."

Finn bobbed his head.

"So, you have a part of the gift too."

Cyclonis nodded. "But you are far stronger than me, Finn and can I marry Dark Ace now. You will be a fine addition to my court, and to the life of my lonely Knight."

"But before you drag him off to your quarters, Dark Ace, I would like to hear about the war that threatens even our home? Aerrow and Piper have much wanted to see you again." She smiled at Finn, the first not-haughty expression to cross her face.

She looked worlds younger when she did.

Finn thanked her, and then left to talk to Aerrow and Piper.

…

Cyclonis turned to her Knight. "He is very powerful, but he is also very kind. I want you to keep him safe. Court these days….I think someone wants me dead. No way would the Raiders attack the 'forest' without inside help. Have you noticed anything unusual in your travels?"

Dark Ace began to shake his head, and then stopped. "I slaughtered some deer that were running to tell that chicken feather-brained commander about Finn. They behaved strangely, and I killed all of them."

"Most likely he's the one plotting to overthrow me, then. I thought banishing him to the edges of the Wyld Fae would bring him to tame. I was wrong, and now I must clean house." Cyclonis announced such in a flippant tone, underneath it calculating how much bloodshed would accompany her in the future.

"Ahem, why was he banished?" Finn popped his head around the bushes to where Cyclonis sat on the bench. "Aerrow and Piper are laughing too hard at something I said to talk."

Cyclonis smiled, a cat ate the canary expression stealing across her face. "He attempted to steal Radarr's wife, a white chicken, so I banished him and Radarr for making such a fuss in my court. I do believe it's the same Radarr that came back with Aerrow."

Finn stared at her. "You are dead serious, aren't you."

Cyclonis nodded.

"Wow." Finn dropped back down.

…

While Dark Ace and Master Cyclonis plotted how to win the war, Finn lounged on the grass and conversed with Aerrow and Piper.

"Yeah, just about everything we met wanted to eat us or rape us. Radarr carried us through the worst of it, and we all made pretty good way into the forest in a month. Then we met Master Cyclonis." Piper explained.

"She was disguised as an old crone, and Radarr wasn't flipping out, so we shared our supplies with her- what was left of them. This horrible storm had driven us off course and into her path." Aerrow picked up.

Finn started to sense a pattern.

"So then she offered us some water, and it was so sweet and clear, that our mouths tasted sour after just a mouthful, but it was all she had to offer us, so we only had a mouthful."

"We reach the shelter, and she takes us in, and watches over us for the rest of the year. Then things start getting freaky." Aerrow accentuated 'freaky' by curling his pointer and middle fingers in the air.

"Yeah, whenever we went somewhere alone to map out the area, she'd get into a bad mood and a very bad storm would roll in." Piper started giggling.

"I think I already know how this ends." Finn cut them off before they could go any further. He wasn't interested in the details of how Cyclonis made the right fit with the two of them. All he cared about was that the right fit had been since all those years ago when Piper's dad had decreed Aerrow was to stay away.

"Yeah, I guess you do." Piper reflected. "It's just so strange. We briefly knew Dark Ace before the war started, and know you're Joined to him."

"What about you two?" Finn asked. "Aren't you wishing….?"

He looked up. "That one day you'll make her proud?" Finn curled his hand around a rock, and then whipped it off into the garden wall.

Whoever had been intruding yelped loudly. Dark Ace came charging through in his wolf form, leaping into the bush and carrying whoever it was to the ground.

Cyclonis arrived at a much more sedated pace, but her hands glanced over the heads of her still human lovers as she walked past, reassuring herself that they were okay.

She entered the clearing.

Domowick, a sprite known for causing trouble, was holding very still with Dark Ace poised to kill him.

"And just what business do you have in the Queens' personal garden?" She asked him coolly. The very air actually began to lose warmth as Cyclonis approached the intruder and her wrath grew.

Domowick was known to run in the same political circles with the soon to be discovered traitor. Radarr came up beside her, baring his teeth.

"Is that Radarr?" Finn hissed to Aerrow. "I only met him as a horse!"

Aerrow nodded. Radarr was short, at five foot nothing, and was covered in blue fur. "He's actually pretty important to the Court. And he's married."

"I knew that." Finn shot back. Part of why Radarr was sold to the butcher was because he refused to mate to any of the mares presented to him.

Cyclonis was interrogating the spy and Dark Ace was seeing to it that the flecks of blood didn't stain her clothes.

Finally, Domowick caved over a week of torture.

…..

Finn rather liked the quarters that Dark Ace stayed in, earthy browns with shocks of red and green through it, and silver lining.

He had been introduced to most of the High Court, and cautioned against the rest. Dark Ace summed it up as, "If you're not with me, stay in the room. There'll be plenty of time later for you to travel about when this is over."

'This' referred to the attempt at the throne and the impending war. Finn snorted. He could tell that the attempt was desperate, and though it seemed harrowing now, Queen Cyclonis and her court would make it through just fine. Other people would die.

Fin flipped over on the bed. Other people would die.

It was a sobering thought, but Finn found that he just didn't care. They had brought it on themselves; they had made their own decisions. He couldn't strip their free will away and save them.

It wasn't that he was uncaring; he also didn't respect their decisions.

He just couldn't understand why. Why they thought he would feel guilty as though he could save them. Why they thought it was his job to guide them.

It wasn't. It was his gift, for him to use, and if he wanted to use his gift to protect the few that were important to him, then they couldn't order him otherwise.

A hand fell onto his shoulder.

"Finn. You're having a vision." Dark Ace's voice cut through the thoughts and brought Finn back to the bed, himself partly on the bed as well.

"You had a fierce expression there. I wanted to roll you over and try having angry sex with you."

Finn smiled. "Another time. The vision was rather disturbing. I think….I think someone is going to attack how I use my powers, which is stupid, but I was upset nonetheless."

Dark Ace nodded. "A lot of trivial items can trigger outrage when you are under great duress. You are strong, Finn, but you aren't resilient. I'll ask Master Cyclonis to help train your mind to detect intrusions. But we can do that tomorrow. Currently, if anyone tries to slip into your mind, I'll know. Now, where were you when I came in?"

"On the bed?"

Dark Ace gave Finn and expectant look.

Finn smirked and rolled over Dark Ace. "I do believe I was getting ready to great you. How do you feel about me riding you?"

Dark Ace swore that it was the only time he would bottom.

…

Cyclonis quirked an eyebrow at her obviously happy Knight across the breakfast table the next morning. The change the young Seer, Finn, had wrought in him was astounding.

Sure, he was loyal and obedient and actually thought for himself and decided to follow her, not just blindly, but with conviction, but he had never….beamed.

She decided that that was the word she was looking for as Dark Ace seated his partner at the table and reported to her.

She listened to him ramble on the palace proceedings, and then motioned for him to eat.

Finn, however, had already served Dark Ace and himself, and waited for his lover to sit before he too ate. Cyclonis purred at the sight. Those two were meant to be.

She glanced to her lap, where one of her hands was under Piper's skirt, toying with the heat and wetness she found there.

Piper delicately served her a piece of fruit. Cyclonis wrapped her mouth around the fruit and Piper's fingers, sucking hard.

Piper fought not to sag against her Master. She would get through breakfast. Then they could have a break from the morning politics and finish what Master had started last night.

Aerrow was still tied up in the bed chambers, awaiting their return.

…

Finn didn't ask why Aerrow had a funny limp when he arrived for the afternoon meditation. Piper and Aerrow brought him up to speed on the breathing techniques, and then time just fell away.

The world was a very loud place, but Finn wanted to hear it. Soon, his breath fell into a regular, slow, deep pattern. The sounds of the material world faded away.

The hum of life filled his thoughts. _This is dangerous._ He anchored himself upon the visions warning, and gently bumped his way into the hum of life.

He became aware of the glowing life that was Aerrow and Piper near him. Aware of the life force of Radarr and his wife taking a stroll in the gardens.

Dark Ace and Master Cyclonis standing in the war room, going over the scout's reports of the Raiders' movements. The spies they sent to watch the feather-brained one who thought he could take on Master Cyclonis.

Finn opened his mind as he anchored himself more into who he was, and saw more. Finally, he realized that he couldn't venture any further without losing his way back.

Rather than take the risk, Finn swam back into his identity, pulling himself together, and shutting off the direct access that had formed to the life hum.

Something dark and vile threw itself at his barriers before the existence of the link could be broken. The link was terminated, and both Aerrow and Piper came out of their trances, a little wild eyed, but without damage.

They caught their breath as though someone had just, well, scared the living daylights out of them.

Master Cyclonis' thoughts wrapped around them a moment later. _Are you okay?_ She demanded, checking for injury.

"We're fine. They were only looking to get in through Finn." Piper responded. Aerrow agreed with her, and once she was done with a once over, Finn requested she tell Dark Ace he was okay.

Dark Ace wouldn't abandon his Queen to check on him. She smiled at his acceptance of the fact, and reassured him that she would.

Dark Ace gave her a soft gaze when she told him that Finn would be alright.

"I know that it's draining you to support them. Perhaps a Charm or blessing could ease the burden?" He tactfully supplemented with it.

Couldn't let it be court gossip that he was emotionally involved with the Halfling. It would be better if loose tongues wagged that he was lusting after his Queen than to talk about Finn. Cyclonis agreed, and they set a date for making a Charm that would protect their important ones from harm while they temporarily were out of reach.

…

Winter came and passed. Cyclonis remained the Queen of Darkness and Air, and the Raiders began to build up their strengths. The land of Atmos had successfully pushed them back and helped the ones who were opposed to the tyrants rule, but the war wasn't over.

The Raiders planned to sail around the coast, land in the Woodlands, and then cut their way through to the western, unguarded border of Atmos.

It was a deviant plan that would have worked, except that Cyclonis objected to her land being dragged into someone else's war.

Technically, she was facing a two way war, and was having trouble with her young lovers, but Aerrow proved himself to her in a tournament and even fought against Dark Ace to a standstill.

He only lost because he didn't have an animal form yet.

Dark Ace, after brooding in his room for two days, accepted that Aerrow would be a fine defender of the Queen and accepted him as an equal.

Aerrow was glad to have someone admit that he could hold his own.

The court began to gossip that perhaps the Queen would keep the greatly improved red head and destroy the blue haired, dark skinned, exotic girl instead.

Piper bided her time.

…

It was at a small social gathering that Cyclonis had Aerrow lay his head in her lap while they were out enjoying tea and crumpets in the garden. She motioned to Piper who stood nearby with a koto.

Piper played beautifully.

At more and more social gatherings, Master Cyclonis began to display her 'butterfly', Piper with the graceful hands that coaxes melodies from the archaic instrument.

Piper began to rise in the eyes of the court.

Those that knew what was going on applauded Queen Cyclonis under their breath for her tact and skill in the ballrooms and social settings.

Those of the court that had no clue wondered when Cyclonis would choose a favorite and foist the other upon her chosen in the court. Bets rippled around the court.

Finn grinned. Boy, were they going to be embarrassed when everyone lost.

….

The Raiders approached in late summer. Most of Atmos had moved the refugee camps into a recognizable pattern, outlaying and bringing sustainable agriculture to the people. They taught subsistence farming, so that the two kingdoms would be encouraged to continue trading goods for food and save the economy from the imminent plunge and buck after the war. All that was left was to execute the would-be ruler for putting the kingdom through years of torment in the pursuit of a personal goal.

Cyclonis prepared her troops, while keeping an eye on feather-brain. Both Piper and Aerrow rode beside her. Actually, Piper rode with Cyclonis, providing music to soothe her anxious Queen and Aerrow rode beside her on her right for protection.

Dark Ace rode on her left, and was to lead the charge into battle. Finn walked with them, pacing with the horses with ease.

His body itched and ached at the weirdest places, but most of all his joints. The horses wouldn't let him get on them, and even Dark Ace's mount gave him a pointed look. Dark Ace had to soothe his ruffled lover in the courtyard.

Finn sighed, and started off with them on foot. Even when they moved at a fast trot, he lithely kept up with them.

It was troubling him. But since he wasn't as high off the ground as Dark Ace and Master Cyclonis, he missed the significant looks that they shared.

…

They arrived and pitched tents in the trees and on the cliffs. Cyclonis was given more shelter from the fight than the others, and she made certain that Piper knew to flee into the Woodlands should the worst happen.

Finn opened his mouth to tell her that they would win, and hide it behind his yawn. Cocky, over confident soldiers were dead soldiers. They needed to believe that there was a chance they could lose and fight to win.

Aerrow asked for a cloak of darkness from his Master, and flew out to reconnaissance the Raiders and when they might arrive.

He returned in three hours, bearing the fearful news that the feather -brain had gone out to meet the Raiders.

Cyclonis hissed. She decreed the feather- brained one a traitor, and then thought to verify Aerrow's story.

Aerrow spoke the truth. Cyclonis divided up what would have been feather-brains territory after his banishment was over between two of her High Court Ladies, Starling and Ravess, and donated the rest to her Weapons Master, Snipe.

They, in turn, dissolved some of their lands or gave them to others lower in the court. They certainly had their hands full running what lands they did own, and would rather have less land than too much power or see parts of it neglected.

The trickle down increased the wealth overall of the court, and the fight had yet to start.

Finally on the second day, they could see the fleet out in the horizon. Master Cyclonis had the troops finish readying, and then settled in to wait.

The fleet drew nearer.

That night, the fleet landed. They waited for the rising sun to launch the attack. Dark Ace slept lightly, awaking to the slightest noise. He had ordered Finn to stay with Piper and Master, as he was in pain from visions that warned him of imminent danger and as a Seer, had no place in a fight.

Especially the front lines.

Dark Ace finally left his tent, walking up and down the beach, readying for the invasion. The troops weren't able to rest either, and shared his enthusiasm for the fight to begin.

Cyclonis motioned to Piper, who bent over her koto. She soothed the soldiers to sleep, so that when the fight began, they would be ready.

Finn thought of Dark Ace. He was terrified to seek the future. He much rather wanted to be down there, helping Dark Ace. But what could he do? Get a blinding vision from being in imminent danger?

Finn slept fitfully that night.

…..

The Sun rose over the battlefield. The fleet had launched the landing boats when the moon was setting, and before the sun rose, using the temporary darkness to shield them.

The feather-brained idiot was so far gone he forgot that Queen Cyclonis is the Queen of Darkness and Air.

The Dark offered no shelter to them.

The sun rose after the battle was well underway. Dark Ace did a fine job of cutting swathes into the enemy's ranks.

The Raiders had finally learned to form circles that, when cut off from the main force, could defend itself in the swarm of the Wyld Fae and court Fae.

Before, once Dark Ace had cut a patch from the Raiders, and that group was doomed to fall under the encroaching forces that he led.

Then the tide of battle changed. The ships themselves came in with the tide, and Dark Ace couldn't climb up onto the ships. He valiantly shielded his men, but he could make no counter-attack. That was when Aerrow swooped down and shattered the mast of one of the flanking ships.

The Fae spread out, not longer confined as fish in a barrel for the enemy to shoot at. Aerrow defeated two more ships, but the third one shot him down.

Master Cyclonis held her breath. With a tactful weave, Aerrow crashed onto the bank, rather than enemy hands.

Starling and Ravess made their way to him, beating off reptilian creatures and retrieved the injured Sorcerer.

The battle had swung back in the favor of the Fae.

Only two main ships were left. The Raiders flag ship, and the vessel that the feather-brain was using. Master Cyclonis forbade the traitor the right to step back onto her land, and the ship ceased to advance. She then rested, tending to her injured Sky Knight and seeing to her exhausted Mage, running around with the healers for the Fae who were waiting to be healed so that they could return to battle.

Dark Ace had yet to stop fighting. He finally devised a way to breach the safe hulls of the ships and take the fight to the Captain and the traitor. He made certain that Weapons Master Snipe was in charge of the clean up sweeps to ensure that all of the Raiders were killed, and leapt from the beach to the wreckages that Aerrow had made of the smaller ships, and then onto the flagship that was still ascending.

He fought through the levels of the Raiders until he reached the top deck. There he was captured.

…

Dark Ace snarled at the goo that had captured him. The stuff was not only vile; it also hurt and sapped his strength. The discovery of such a substance was definitely the driving force behind feather-brain's scheme.

If he managed to slap this stuff on Master Cyclonis, it was only a matter of time before she would cave. Dark Ace proceeded to burn the substance. Apparently, it was only dangerous in liquid form and could be destroyed.

Well, it certainly rendered the stuff unusable, except that now Dark Ace was trapped on a burning ship, in the ocean, with two people he was trying to kill.

Oh, and they also wanted him dead.

Dark Ace snarled and readied himself to fight.

…

Finn couldn't stop itching. The fighting on the land was over, and burying the dead Raiders was the task that kept everyone busy. Master Cyclonis watched the ship, and a guard stood at attention, but no one had seen Dark Ace since he had leapt in there-

There he was on the deck, and one of his hands was caught in a slimy, black substance. He would pull, but his arm remained fast, and he was tiring.  
He managed to fight the Raiders captain one handed, and bound in place, a wolf backed into a corner was a dangerous beast.

He defeated the Raider, who was carted off by his men to be tended.

Feather-brains laughed, and leveled a cross-bow at Dark Ace. Dark Ace changed into his wolf form as the quarrel flew at him, embedding itself in the goo just where he was standing.

The problem with turning into his wolf form was that he was now bound fast with four paws to the goo and couldn't move.

He fought to remain standing, and faced the cross-bow head on as feather-brain swore and reloaded.

If he hadn't been swearing and choosing a new cross-bow bolt, he would have noticed the giant, sun colored puma leap across the deck with murder in his cerulean eyes.

….

As soon as Dark Ace was captured, Finn abandoned all orders and ran to save him. His body itched, and then felt as though it was burning. He needed to be faster. He needed to be stronger.

He needed to save Dark Ace.

Finn didn't notice when he changed from Halfling into a giant cat, but he did know when he carried his body across the deck in a single bound to land with a bone shattering crack on the feather-brained traitor.

He staggered to all fours, and looked at Dark Ace. He gently made his way over to Dark Ace, using a casual swipe of his paw to break the feather-brained traitor's arms so that he couldn't hurt him.

Oh, and a back swipe with a hind leg to make sure he couldn't spit any curses at them either.

Then he walked over to Dark Ace and rubbed against him with an affectionate greeting. Dark Ace enthusiastically greeted his lover.

"Now do you understand why your body was feeling strange?"

Finn nodded, continuing to rub his face and shoulders against Dark Ace. Then he turned back into his Halfling form and burnt away that last of the goo.

Dark Ace and Finn returned to Master Cyclonis, and she praised them and her soldiers for winning the war.

The Raiders Captain offered his own life that what was left of his crew may return to their own land.

Cyclonis looked at them, and smirked.

"You dare to attack me and think that will go unpunished?" Her soft voice carried across the waves.

"You will spend the next five years wandering the ocean to the east of here, searching for the Queen of Light and Earth that passed that way. If you find sight of her, you will pursue her. If at the end of five years, you have no word of her, you may go home."

Cyclonis had them refit the ship and set sail that very night. Then she had them throw the wreckages back into the sea, so that the King of Atmos would believe that a fierce storm destroyed most of the fleet and maintain vigilance for any return of the Raiders.

But the important part was that the war was over.

The Fae celebrated on the beach, were the great battle was once waged. Then, in respect of peace, they returned to the court city to continue feasting and celebrating.

Dark Ace, of course, handled the party with care, making social appearances. Finn hovered at his side, never straying. His new form was still strange, but Dark Ace had promised that when everything had blown over, he would be allowed to see the city where he now lived.

Finn explored. The festival was certainly amazing.

He found places where he had to be in his puma form in order to reach into the nooks and crannies and discover the places there.

It was one moon lit night when Dark Ace requested that, since their animal forms were compatible, perhaps they could mate.

Finn decided that a flustered, red cheeked Dark Ace was adorable, and all his. He turned into his puma form and splashed through a river to the opposite bank, and disappeared into the den.

Dark Ace followed.

….

Finn woke up that morning, having spent the night in his puma form, still in his puma form. Once had figured out what was going on, he woke up Dark Ace.

"Never again. I couldn't see your face." Finn pouted at Dark Ace.

Dark Ace leaned down and nuzzled his now human form into Finn's puma fur coat. "I agree."

…

Decades later…..

Master Cyclonis watched as her lovers moved through the court and finally rose to the level of Masters themselves. They, of course, swore loyalty to her.

She smiled, content in the knowledge that they were wrapped around her little finger in a way that no one else on Court was.

She began officially courting them in the 'proper' and 'observed' channels not too long after.

The court gossiped about how Master Cyclonis knew no boundaries or limits, using the courting ritual to bind two powerful masters to her side so that she could strip away any free will for rebellion.

Piper and Aerrow snorted. Master Cyclonis was not proper or crafty in the least bit. She was a wily Queen with more grace than the rest of the court and their families combined.

And they were wrapped around her little finger in two Charms that adorned her finger as a ring. A symbol of their promise, protection, and reciprocation to her.

On their respective little fingers, there was also a three-banded ring. A ring made up of one red, one blue, and one black strand.

…..

Dark Ace and Finn padded back into the forest. His fathers were very glad that Dark Ace, as an Elven Lord, was allowed to visit the human world.

They introduced Finn to the small trade in iron that they did, and made certain that whenever Finn and Dark Ace came to visit, there was no trace of iron laying about.

Both men had aged beautifully, and had helped rebuild the village and the keep. They were heroes in their own right.

They were very proud parents to have had Finn. Finn bumped shoulders with Dark Ace.

The reason for entering the human world was that the King of Atmos, old as he was, could not live forever. His successor was a wise and gentle girl by the name of Dove.

She also had a mean right hook, which she displayed to the men harassing Finn while Dark Ace talked to the Inn keeper.

Dark Ace decided that she would be a fine ruler, and after renewing some of the older Charms on the palace, set off for the Woodlands.

Finn blessed Dove for safe travels, and thanked her for saving him. Then he followed Dark Ace.

Now they were on their way back to the court. Master Cyclonis had brushed against them through the hum of life and told them to take their time returning, she was in the middle of courting Piper and Aerrow.

Finn turned to Dark Ace.

"What's her policy on abandoned nursery's with showers?"

Dark Ace grinned and changed course.

~Fin

…

FIFTY-EIGHT PAGES! And I'm done! I haven't given up on 'A Practiced Maneuver', but chances are it will be a while of building up the relationship before I could get to them loving each other.

Now that I have scratched that itch, I can now focus on all of my stories in the regard that they should be viewed in. Don't you just hate it when an idea you have starts bleeding into other stories because you won't write it?

If I missed anything (grammar, spelling, details- I'm pretty sure my verbs changed tense) Review and tell me! Proof-reading this sucker will take me time that I do not have right now. Nevermind, I got around to proof reading it, and that took me three hours to go over it. Okay, two and a half with editing.

Thanks for reading! Please Review and tell me what you thought!

Oh, drat, I almost forgot-

Epilogue~

Radarr and his wife, the beautiful chicken, strolled through the gardens of their new home. She clucked and led him to her personal chambers, indicating for him to open a chest.

Inside of the chest, their un-hatched children awaited their future. He chirruped and hugged her.

This was wonderful news, indeed!


End file.
